★ Martinez-Neal brings her gentle story to life through beautiful graphite and colored pencil artwork, set against cream-colored backgrounds. Soft blue and red details pop against the charcoal scenes, which perfectly reflect the snapshots of Alma’s family. While Alma feels enriched by learning her family’s history, she is also empowered by the knowledge that she will give her name, Alma, its own story. —Starred review

★ The softly colored images and curvilinear shapes that embrace the figures evoke a sense of warmth and affection (…) A beautifully illustrated, tender story to be shared with all children —Starred review

Throughout, grayscale print transfer illustrations have a soft visual texture, and subtle colored-pencil highlights in pinks and blues enliven each spread. The pictures end up stealing the show in their depiction of the sweet closeness between Alma and her father. They also convey a subtle, supernatural connection between Alma and her ancestors, whose images in the family photos make eye contact with her outside of her father’s awareness.

Like artifacts, the names that parents give children often have stories to tell. Every piece of Alma’s name, she discovers, comes to her from someone in her family, and, as she and her father talk, Alma feels a new sense of connection (…) Touching on cultural themes (…) this is a tender outing for children ages 4-8.

With each ancestral tale, Alma enthusiastically underscores her direct connections to her familial inheritance (…) Names are so much more than a collection of letters and sounds, Martinez-Neal reminds. The book’s final words, “What story would you like to tell?” become an invitation for readers to share and claim each of their own, distinctive stories, histories and identities.